Photo: Nick Pickles / wenn
Nic Dawson Kelly daybreaks on the Sunrise stage with tracks from his album, The Musician. Like a Devendra Banhart crossed with The Crazy world Of Arthur Brown, Kelly hollering and howling the lyrics - “…everybody notices and nobody feels…” to a rolling acoustic guitar, while a country-rock Banhart-like warble has “…you got money from your lips down to your toes…”, and “…we gonna leave this place and find some melody…”. Followed by Wallis Bird, the Oirish singer-songwriter enjoying comparisons to Fiona Apple with her folky happenings and frenetic, agit-folk, she coaxes “shake yer boobies, let‘s get a love-buzz” to ’The Circle’. A different chord is struck - psychedelic and discordant, The Exploits of Elaine entertain in Music & Film arena to Sarah Wood’s ‘The Book Of Love’ movie, with a range of Jew’s harp, glockenspiel and pounding drums, and just a dash of Kraut-like experimentation.
You’ll hear more from new band Golden Silvers. With A Ceratin Ratio’s hooks, Joe Strummer-like vocals and rollicking drums (is that Animal of The Muppets Show on drums), harmonies and funky wig-outs are on order at Uncut with fresh, funky fun and quirky vintage keyboards. A latter-day Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel shaping up.
Bill Bailey takes to the Comedy Tent for another year, with musings of Glastonbury calling Amy Winehouse an albino locust and how Jay-Z should have “…taking it English style…” as he raps the theme of Dads Army. Making reference to the evenings headlining act Sigur Ros, Bailey asks the audience if anyone knows what they’re singing about as he thinks they’d be good at singing songs by the worzels, “..oooarrr, oooarrr..”. Bursting into Lionel Ritchie songs, he jokes about how it doesn’t matter what chat up line is used they all sound shit in a West Country accent. Singing a little ditty about EMO self harming kids who work in Starbucks, “…I’ll bleed in your Panini...”, Bailey finishes his set with his song about ducks “…drowning in the hoisin of your lies…”.
Coming in at #18 amongst the 25 entrants to this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, it’s Sebastien Tellier. Here at Uncut with his dashing electro-pop, “…about to find the milky way…”, and elsewhere “a song about really nice people, but so fat and so ugly” receiving extended wig-outs and strangled guitars, Seb cuts a thrust with “this is a song about my sexuality”, as 70’s Bowie takes on an atmospheric drenching. We at Latitude know - the contest was rigged!!
I Am Kloot play the Obelisk Stage with a relaxed performance of songs including ‘Someone Like You’ and ‘Hey Little Bird’. The gentle acoustic guitars and distinctive northern vocal see’s John Bramwell thank the crowd “…I didn’t think anyone would come, so this is dedicated to you..” as they kick into ‘To You’. The final track ‘Proof’ is met with audience gratuity and vocal participation,
In the Sunset Arena Malcolm Middleton opens his set with the ever moody ‘Blue Plastic Bags’ singing in misery “… 6 bottles of Stella, Jacobs Creek and 20 fags…”. Malcolm plays with a band which includes additional violin giving his gloomy tracks such as ‘Fuck It, I Love You’ and ‘Your Going to Die’ more lift. When asked by the audience to “…give us a smile..” the request was denied and the set continued onto a cover of N-Trance’s ‘Set You Free’.
Elbow play the Obelisk stage, and are met by one of Latitudes biggest crowds. ‘Starlings’ opens with trumpets and female backing which weaves over drums and piano. Elbow play mostly newer material such as ‘Bones of You’ and ‘Mirrorball’ mixed with old familiars such as ‘Leaders of The Free World’, as ‘Newborn’ sees an unusual line fluff from Garvey who proceeds to invite the audience to start the track for him. Guy Garvey has a heart-warming stage presence as he improvises on his opening to ‘Grounds For Divorce’ - “…Saturday’s are for drinking with the seldom seen kid…”, the track met with Talk Talk-style guitars as Garvey pounds on an aluminium rod. ‘One Day Like This’ highlights their use of a string Trio and Garvey has the audience singing heartily “…So throw those curtains wide!/ One day like this a year'd see me right!..”
Sigur Ros, a highly leftfield Saturday headliner for the Obelisk stage with their ‘elfy’ language and a glorious show filled with beautiful orchestration is what Latitude is all about. Opening the set with the atmospheric ‘Svefn-g-englar’ and playing a variety of tracks such as ‘Gobbledigook’ with its clattering drums, and ‘Festival’ which sit comfortably along side ‘Glosoli’, and ‘Hoppipolli’ merging into ‘Meo Blodnasir’. As is customary to their performance they were joined onstage by all-female string section Amiina and a white-suited brass section, ending with a snow machine dusting the audience while they play their final track of luscious riffs and pixie-style atmospherics.
Day One in Pictures
Day Two in Pictures
Day Three in Pictures
